The Best Simple Roast Chicken

This is the best simple roast chicken recipe I’ve ever made! We’ve had such hot weather lately that it was wonderful to wake up to a cool and overcast day, which always means cooking a comforting meal.   I have made a lot of roasted chicken, and I have to say this one may be my new favorite. The key to Thomas Keller’s best simple roast chicken recipe is making sure the bird is entirely dry before seasoning, that it’s properly trussed, and seasoned very well with Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. You don’t add anything that could produce steam, such as lemons, onions, or other veggies, to the cavity, and then you roast the chicken at a high temperature. The final result is a very juicy roast chicken that is perfectly cooked and has really crispy skin. Keller serves his chicken with butter slathered on the pieces and mustard on the side. This whole roasted chicken recipe was easy to make, was a hit with my entire family, and paired nicely with a mashed potato casserole, roasted asparagus, a simple salad, and some crusty bread.

Best Simple Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 (3 lb) whole chicken
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp butter, if desired
• 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard, to taste, if desired

How to Make the Best Simple Roast Chicken

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Carefully rinse the chicken, then dry it VERY well, inside and out. The drier the meat and skin, the better, because you don’t want the chicken to steam while it roasts.

Season the cavity well with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Add the thyme sprig to the cavity. Truss the bird. Side Note: Trussing the bird helps the chicken cook evenly, and it also creates a more beautiful roasted bird. 

Season it well with kosher salt all over the bird evenly–the chicken should have a nice, uniform coating of salt, which will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin.

Season the entire bird with some freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Place the chicken in a large cast-iron skillet or roasting pan and place it in the preheated oven. Leave it alone. Don’t baste the chicken or add butter because this will create steam.

Cook until a meat thermometer in the thigh reaches 165 degrees and the juices run clear, about 50-60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set it on a cutting board to rest for 10-15 minutes.